N.C. Baptists can receive practical training and equipping in a variety of ministry areas through a series of virtual breakout sessions that will be released in conjunction with this year’s Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSCNC) annual meeting.

Fifteen breakout session videos prerecorded by state convention staff, church practitioners and other ministry leaders will be released at 9 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 9, the day before N.C. Baptists gather for this year’s annual meeting, which will be held at First Baptist Church of Charlotte on Tuesday, Nov. 10.

Additionally, several breakout session leaders will host live, virtual meetings on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 9:30 a.m. or 11 a.m. to interact and delve deeper with attendees in the ministry topic they address.

The breakout sessions and follow-up meetings are being offered at no cost. Registration is not required to view the breakout sessions, but those interested in attending a virtual follow-up meeting with a session leader must register for those meetings in advance.

Several of the sessions being offered this year directly address issues that have surfaced over the past year, and we hope that many N.C. Baptists will take advantage of these options.

A complete list of breakout session topics and leaders is available online at ncannualmeeting.org/breakouts. To see which leaders are hosting follow-up meetings, click on the “Join Breakout” button under the session or sessions you are interested in. After clicking on the “Join Breakout” button, sessions offering a follow-up meeting option will include details and a sign-up link to register.

Breakout sessions have become a popular aspect of the BSCNC annual meeting each year, and convention leaders wanted to make them available again this year, despite changes to this year’s annual meeting time, location, schedule and format.

“We are thankful that we can provide breakout sessions in a new format this year,” said Lynn Sasser, executive leader for the BSCNC’s Evangelism and Discipleship group, who coordinates breakout session offerings for the annual meeting. “Conducting these sessions virtually and having the opportunity to connect with many session leaders afterward still gives our pastors, church leaders and laity many options for training, equipping and encouragement.

“Several of the sessions being offered this year directly address issues that have surfaced over the past year, and we hope that many N.C. Baptists will take advantage of these options.”

Ministering amid a pandemic, the future of ministry, livestreaming, race relations and more are among the breakout session topics that will be addressed this year. Descriptions of all the breakout session topics are available at ncannualmeeting.org/breakouts.